CITATION RELATIONSHIPS AMONG INTERNATIONAL MASS-COMMUNICATION JOURNALS

A citation analysis of selected mass communication journals using clus tering and multidimensional scaling techniques was performed to determ ine relationships among international journals in this developing fiel d. Results of the analysis confirm that US journals are currently at t he center of the field. The field seems to be heavily described by two dimensions: geography and theory/research. The geographical dimension was defined by US journals, European journals and others. The theory/ research dimension follows a basic critical-empirical dichotomy eviden t in the literature. The study findings also corroborate current theor ies of scholarly community development. Schott [20] characterized the extended scholarly community as having a strong center (traditionally defined by geography) around which a periphery of membership participa te. Strong centers consolidate work, establish authority and efficient ly diffuse information, As the community strengthens, the center 'push es outwards the boundaries of the community' [20]. The nature of the e xtended community itself and its inner workings have been described in terms of shared beliefs among its members about the validity of the w ork being done by the community, affirmation of results, technological conditions and economic and institutional conditions [20]. Validity o f work may be assessed by examining the theoretical and methodological paradigms of a discipline (especially in the social sciences). The va lidity of work may also be affected by the perceived value of the work as being theoretical or applied. Affirmation of results is reflected by the strength of the ties among journals within a given discipline o r subfield. Technological conditions can include the impact of languag es used in the discipline and their importance. Economic and historica l conditions of a given region may contribute deeply to its ability to participate or not in the community at large.